Thursday, December 03, 2015

Writing Takes Courage

It's
not easy to be a writer and push your ideas out into the world. The process of
publishing involves risk and takes courage. I wish there were some guarantees.
The only guarantee for the writer is to continually work hard to expand their platform and reach their
audience. Through
twitter, often
writers will reach out to me through email and ask how I can help them. My
answer depends on their situation and what they need. Recently a self-published
novelist approached me for help. She had sold 35 copies of her book and wanted
to know what to do next. I sent her a number of links and ideas. Her situation
is fairly typical. What authors don't often consider if they self-publish is
they are taking 100% of the responsibility for selling the book and completely
on their own (no one helping them). Another aspect they don't know (because they
often aren't a part of publishing) is they are jumping into relationship with a
company publishing at least 50,000 titles a year (follow this link if you
don't believe the number and I know these numbers are four years old and only
increasing). In my
exchange with this novelist, I offered to review her book and possibly pitch it
to my publication board at Morgan James Publishing. I say “possibly” because I do not do
this for every author or every type of book. As an acquisitions editor, my
responsibility is to look for the right book and the right author. We have
standards and criteria—unlike self-publishing. We only publish about 150 books a
year and receive over 5,000 submissions for those few spots. My job involves
this sorting process looking for quality and the right authors. If (and that
could be a big if) the submission is appropriate and well-done, then I process
the submission into the publisher system and later schedule a time to speak with
the author.She did
some research online and learned there might be a financial investment so she
balked sending me her “lifetime work.” The key is there “might” be an
investment—if she even sends it and if she gets an offer to publish. There are
many unknowns in this process but the writer has to have courage and move ahead.
As an acquisitions editor, I invest hours with authors talking to
them about the unique way books are published at Morgan James.
It does
not mean the process is easy or simple but it is possible. I'm sincere on my twitter profile
where I offer to help authors and give my personal email address. I help in many
different ways:1.
Answering my email and returning phone calls. This type of prompt communication
is different in a publishing world which doesn't respond. Often writers feel
like their submissions and emails and manuscripts go into a black
hole.2.
Sending them to my free information like this article in The Writing Life or on Right-Writing or one of
my numerous free
teleseminars.3.
Sometimes I offer for the author to send their manuscript to my work email then
process the submission and see if I can get them a book contract. Each step in
the process for them to move forward takes courage and action. In this process,
you need to work with people you can trust—but also people who give you a
realistic picture of the process. I tell every author that I speak with about Morgan James that it
is 80%their responsibility. Also I make sure I tell
them about how bookstores buy books and the authors key role in that process.
It's key to manage their expectations and help them understand the important
role of every author in the process of getting their book into the
market.When we
think of courage, often a lion illustrates courage because of their behavior. As
writers we need to have courage and take action with our
writing.Books
change lives. I know first hand how a book changed my life. It does not happen sitting on your
computer or in your desk drawer. It takes courage to take action and get it out
into the world. Do something courageous with your writing
today.Tweetable:Get these insights on writing takes courage. (Click to Tweet)